1955 Topps Sandy Koufax #123 RC

A horizontal card and a loaded rookie class

By 1955 the card war between Topps and Bowman was nearly over; Bowman's 1955 baseball set would be its last of the era. Topps answered with its first fully horizontal design, a wide card about 3 3/4 by 2 5/8 inches. Each front pairs a large close-up portrait with a smaller action pose over a strong team-colored background, with the player's name, a facsimile signature and the team logo. The backs carry a short biography, statistics and a cartoon trivia panel.

The checklist totals 206 cards, numbered 1 to 210 with four numbers never issued, and a scarce high-number series, cards 161 to 210, makes the set harder to finish. Cards were sold in one-card penny packs, six-card nickel packs and scarce 15-card cello packs, each with a stick of gum.

The set is remembered for its rookies. Roberto Clemente (#164) and Sandy Koufax (#123) are two of the most important rookie cards of the postwar era, and Harmon Killebrew (#124) sits right after Koufax. Established stars Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Ted Williams anchor the veteran checklist. Mickey Mantle is missing for the second straight year because he was signed exclusively to Bowman.

The bonus baby from Brooklyn

Koufax was born Sanford Braun on December 30, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York, and took the surname Koufax at age nine when his mother remarried. He was a basketball standout who captained his Lafayette High School team and went to the University of Cincinnati, where he walked on to the freshman basketball team and also pitched for the baseball team.

On December 14, 1954, the Brooklyn Dodgers signed him for a $6,000 salary and a $14,000 bonus. Under the bonus rule of the day, a player signed for that much had to stay on the major league roster for two years, so Koufax never pitched in the minor leagues. He learned at the top level, and the learning was slow.

He debuted on June 24, 1955, against the Milwaukee Braves, at 19. His first win came on August 27, 1955, a two-hit shutout of Cincinnati with 14 strikeouts. He finished the season 2-2 with a 3.02 ERA, 30 strikeouts and 28 walks in 41 2/3 innings. That October the Dodgers beat the Yankees in seven games for the only World Series title they won in Brooklyn; Koufax was on the roster but did not pitch.

From wild to unhittable

For years the card showed a prospect who had not arrived. Through 1960 Koufax struggled to control his fastball. PSA's account of his career credits backup catcher Norm Sherry with the advice, in 1961, to stop trying to throw every pitch harder than the last. What followed was one of the great runs in pitching history.

Koufax threw a no-hitter against the New York Mets on June 30, 1962, another against San Francisco on May 11, 1963, a third against Philadelphia on June 4, 1964, and a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs on September 9, 1965, striking out 14. In 1963 he went 25-5 with a 1.88 ERA and 306 strikeouts, winning the Cy Young Award and the National League MVP. He won the Cy Young again in 1965 (26-8, 2.04, 382 strikeouts) and 1966 (27-9, 1.73, 317 strikeouts), and was World Series MVP in 1963 and 1965.

In 1965 he declined to pitch Game 1 of the World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur. On November 18, 1966, at 30, he announced his retirement because of chronic elbow pain and the risk of permanent damage. He finished 165-87 with a 2.76 ERA and 2,396 strikeouts, and in 1972, at 36, became the youngest player ever elected to the Hall of Fame, named on 344 of 396 ballots.

Grading the card

The Koufax rookie is not rare. PSA's census counts many thousands of graded copies, from Authentic up to Gem Mint 10. What keeps high grades scarce is the card itself: centering is often poor, and print defects show up easily in the light-colored background around Koufax's face. Like most cards of the time, 1955 Topps were handled hard by children, so rubber-band marks and rounded corners are common.

At the top of the census PSA lists three copies at PSA 10 and 25 at PSA 9. PSA 8, the grade of this entry, holds 245 copies, and PSA's table counts 45 copies graded higher. PSA notes that the card is easier to find in high grade than the Clemente rookie from the same set, but its popularity keeps it the defining Koufax card.

The record climbs

For years the top public sale for the card was $396,000, set by a PSA 9 in 2022. Another PSA 9 brought $384,000 at auction in 2023, and in July 2026 a third sold at auction for $390,400. About two months later, in September 2026, a PSA 9 led a summer rarities auction at $604,736 after 38 bids, beating the old record by $208,736, an increase of more than 52 percent. The auction listing noted that only three copies have received a higher PSA grade.

Koufax's postseason record helps explain the demand. Across eight World Series appearances he went 4-3 with a 0.95 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 57 innings.

The numbers

1955 season

12 G, 5 GS, 2 CG, 2 SHO, 2-2, 3.02 ERA, 41.2 IP, 33 H, 28 BB, 30 SO, 1.464 WHIP. Age 19.

Debut

June 24, 1955, vs. Milwaukee Braves

First win

August 27, 1955: two-hit shutout of Cincinnati, 14 strikeouts

1963 season

25-5, 1.88 ERA, 306 SO, 311.0 IP. Cy Young Award and NL MVP.

1965 season

26-8, 2.04 ERA, 382 SO, 335.2 IP. Cy Young Award.

1966 season

27-9, 1.73 ERA, 317 SO, 323.0 IP. Cy Young Award.

Career (1955-1966)

165-87, 2.76 ERA, 2,396 SO, 2,324.1 IP, 40 shutouts, 4 no-hitters including a perfect game

World Series

4-3, 0.95 ERA, 61 SO in 57 IP; 4 titles; World Series MVP 1963 and 1965

Hall of Fame

Elected 1972 at 36, 344 of 396 ballots

Timeline

1. Dec 30, 1935

   Sanford Braun, later Sandy Koufax, is born in Brooklyn.

2. Dec 14, 1954

   The Brooklyn Dodgers sign Koufax for a $6,000 salary and a $14,000 bonus.

3. 1955

   Topps issues its 206-card horizontal set with Koufax's rookie card, #123.

4. Jun 24, 1955

   Koufax debuts against the Milwaukee Braves at 19.

5. Aug 27, 1955

   First career win: a two-hit shutout of Cincinnati with 14 strikeouts.

6. Oct 4, 1955

   Brooklyn wins Game 7 of the World Series, 2-0; Koufax is on the roster but does not pitch.

7. Jun 30, 1962

   Koufax throws his first no-hitter, against the New York Mets.

8. 1963

   Koufax wins the Cy Young Award and National League MVP.

9. Sep 9, 1965

   Koufax throws a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs, his fourth no-hitter.

10. Oct 1965

    Koufax sits out Game 1 of the World Series on Yom Kippur; the Dodgers win the Series.

11. Nov 18, 1966

    Koufax retires at 30 because of chronic elbow pain.

12. 1972

    Koufax becomes the youngest player ever elected to the Hall of Fame.

13. 2022

    A PSA 9 sells for $396,000, the public record for the card at the time.

14. 2023

    A PSA 9 sells at auction for $384,000.

15. Jul 2026

    Another PSA 9 sells at auction for $390,400.

16. Sep 2026

    A PSA 9 sells at auction for a record $604,736.

The world in 1955

• Apr 12, 1955

  Jonas Salk's polio vaccine receives full approval.

• Apr 15, 1955

  Ray Kroc opens his first McDonald's, in Des Plaines, Illinois.

• Jul 17, 1955

  Disneyland opens in Anaheim, California.

• Aug 28, 1955

  Emmett Till is murdered in Money, Mississippi.

• Sep 24, 1955

  President Eisenhower suffers a heart attack while on vacation in Denver.

• Sep 30, 1955

  Actor James Dean, 24, is killed in a car crash near Cholame, California.

• Dec 1, 1955

  Rosa Parks is arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her bus seat.

• Dec 5, 1955

  The AFL and CIO merge to form the AFL-CIO.

Daily price data

FLOAT reprices this card every day from completed sales. Last updated November 12, 2026.

No completed sale at PSA 8 is on record yet. The same card at other grades:

Every grade and recorded sale for this card

Price record

A realized private sale is a completed transaction outside an auction room. The amount is what changed hands on the date shown. Private sales are reported less consistently than auction results, so a single comparable carries less weight than a run of them.

By reference price, 1955 Topps Sandy Koufax #123 RC is number 34 of 100 in the trading cards entries of the FLOAT 100. 97 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (21 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Because his signing bonus was over the limit of the day, Koufax had to stay on the Dodgers' major league roster and never pitched in the minors.
• Koufax was on the roster when Brooklyn won its only World Series in 1955, but he did not pitch in it.
• The card was issued when Koufax had a 2-2 career record; he later won three Cy Young Awards in four seasons.
• Harmon Killebrew's rookie card, #124, is numbered right after Koufax's in the 1955 set.
• Koufax retired at 30 and was elected to the Hall of Fame at 36, the youngest player ever chosen.
• His World Series ERA across eight appearances was 0.95.